Can I Keep You?
by Halfsan
Summary: -Oneshot- Ib's curiosity gets the better of her, and Garry ends up explaining something he would've normally waited until she was older to her.


**Here I am with ****yet another Ib fanfic! Don't worry, my 30 word challenge is still going. In fact, I wrote this story a LONG time ago. I was just withholding it from the internet because... I don't know why, heh. But I've decided to post it for your viewing pleasure...or maybe you'll hate it. I dunno. I just know the newfound Ib category needs more love!**

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Ib swiveled around impatiently as her feet dangled off the spinning computer chair, waiting for the internet to load. Her hand idled on the mouse, waiting to click at the web address once it finally loaded. Garry's place had sure had slow internet. But she didn't even have it at her house, and that was one of the many, many reasons she liked staying at Garry's.

Almost every day after school, Garry would meet her outside and the two of them would walk to his apartment. From there, he'd help her study and teach her what certain words meant—which is why Ib was currently acing spelling and reading. Other times, like if it were a weekend, Garry would take her to the cafe near his apartment and they would just talk and stuff their faces with pastries and juice—coffee for him.

Today was such a day, and the two of them had just returned to Garry's apartment. Ib made a dash to Garry's computer desk, itching to read short stories made by anonymous authors. Garry had settled on the couch and was watching TV, smoking a cigarette.

Ib clicked on the first story she saw, eager to test out her heightened vocabulary. If not, she knew Garry would be willing to help her read a few of the words, and sometimes, he'd even read the story to her. It was nice. His voice was nice. Ib had skipped over the summary of the story, but read the notes inside. The story had a few warnings, like some violence, a few bad words, and something called a 'lemon.' Ib quirked a brow at this. What was so bad about a story with a lemon, she wondered. The candy that Garry had given her was lemon-flavored. She didn't get it, but continued on with the story.

It was a romance story, Ib later realized. A sort of story where a girl likes a guy, but the guy doesn't notice. General stuff that Ib had read over and over again. She was a bit tired of the same old plot, but she continued reading on anyway.

Then she got even more confused. The next few paragraphs had many words she didn't understand. They weren't even remotely familiar. Ib read around them, trying to figure them out using context clues, but nothing came to mind. She peeked over her shoulder at Garry reclining on the light blue couch with half of a cigarette between his fingers.

"Garry, can you read this part for me?" Ib asked.

"Sure," Garry replied, setting his cigarette on the ashtray—he knew how much Ib hated those things—and walked to the girl in his computer chair.

Once he was over her shoulder, she pointed with her finger at the start of the paragraph. Ib looked at Garry's face, watching his eyes drift over the sentences, until they suddenly widened. His face turned a bright scarlet, and his hand went over hers on the computer mouse, minimizing the window.

"What did it say?" Ib questioned, watching as Garry put a trembling hand over his mouth.

"It said a lot of things," Garry remarked, composing himself. "Things you shouldn't read until you're a bit older."

That wasn't the first time he'd said that. Back when they had first met, she found a book at random and began reading it. She didn't know what it was even talking about, but that didn't stop Garry from slamming the book shut in her hands.

"Just what _is _so grown-up about it, anyway?" Ib stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. She crossed her arms, a little frustrated that she wasn't allowed to know. It was just a story, all make-believe, so Ib didn't really see the problem in simply _knowing_.

"Well, erm, it, uh.." Garry tripped over his words, Ib eying him carefully. Clearing his throat, he began again. "It's just beyond your level of reading. Children your age aren't supposed to be reading stories like that. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess," Ib sighed. She still didn't see the problem, but if she argued, Garry would probably scold her.

He patted her on the head. "Good girl. Now, I'd be more than happy to read you anything else," he said with a smile. Ib really liked his smile.

She nodded in thanks, and Garry took his seat back on the couch, picking his cigarette back up and dragging out the remainder of its life.

Ib let out a frustrated sigh, spinning the chair back so it would face the computer. Her elbows rested on the desk with her hands holding her head up. She stared at Garry's desktop background, which was a picture of the two of them out picnicking. There was no one else to take it, so Garry used his long arms to stretch his camera out as far as it would. It cut it close, but the picture turned out to be really good.

Her eyes drifted to the task bar and Ib remembered that Garry had only minimized the window. She cautiously glanced over her shoulder, and once she was convinced that his full attention was on the TV, she opened the window back up and scanned the paragraph.

Ib had no idea what was going on, but the story involved two people—one boy and one girl—lying down together. She read on, and the boy crawled on top of the girl and started sucking on her neck. Her brow arched, and Ib wondered if the boy in the story was secretly a vampire. She continued reading, and the boy had given the girl something called a 'hicky' on her neck.

Ib's hand absently went and cupped at her neck. Did that really happen? And what did it mean? What did it even look like? She contemplated asking Garry about it, but she would probably get the same exact response as before. Ib normally wasn't very stubborn, but when she was curious about something, she was hard-headed.

Then Ib had a thought. And it was probably the only way Garry would explain to her what this word meant, so she went with it. Ib slipped out of the computer chair and made her way to the couch, her steps slowing as she realized Garry had dozed off. He was reclined on his back, and his neck was angled in such a way that his face was almost completely visible—usually half of it was obscured by his outrageous bangs.

She really liked the way Garry looked when he was asleep. His eyes were shut so lightly that he just looked so peaceful. His coat that he always wore was hung up on the coat rack near the entrance, so he was in the tank top he wore underneath it.

Inhaling a breath, Ib carefully crawled on the couch, carefully straddling the sleeping man. Despite the fact Garry only seemed to be in a light sleep, his face remained completely relaxed; Ib, however, felt her knees tremble slightly. Taking in another deep breath, Ib slowly leaned forward, pressing her open mouth on his neck.

It was then she felt Garry stir below her, but paid no mind to him. Ib locked her lips in place and started sucking at the soft skin on his neck. Garry made a couple of nervous noises, but said nothing. She felt his hands on her waist and slowly trail up to her shoulders.

"I-Ib," he stammered, tugging at her shoulders. Ib didn't budge an inch, even though her arms were getting tired from holding her above him. She decided that since he was clearly awake, that she didn't need to be sneaky and settled against his chest, her lips still firmly at his neck.

Garry's throat made a funny noise as she closed the distance between them. His slender fingers gently closed around her shoulders, and he jerked her away. Ib's lips finally parted from his skin with a popping noise. Where she had been, a deep red mark about the size of Ib's thumb was now in the spot she had latched on. She stared at it intently.

"Wow. Does that hurt?" she asked, poking at the red mark. To her, it looked like a bruise. Garry's hand grasped hers as it poked at his neck. Her eyes trailed up and studied his face. He looked pretty exasperated, with his wide eyes and red face. It was like he was distracted by some deep musing.

"Where did you... _why _did you... do that?" Garry had disregarded Ib's question completely, blurting out his own. His eyes finally made contact with hers, and he almost looked a little angry. Whatever that emotion was, Ib didn't like the way it looked on him.

"Did I do something bad?" Ib sat upright on his stomach, looking down at his face. She frowned at him, and Garry gave her a shocked look. Ib suddenly became more interested in her hands, as they nervously twisted together. "I.. I read that story, the one you wouldn't read for me. And that was in it, and I knew you wouldn't tell me what it was, so I thought..."

Ib's head hung even lower and her bangs covered her eyes. Tears started forming in her eyes, but she blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of Garry. She was more grown-up than that.

Garry shifted beneath her, sitting upright and putting his hand to her cheek. The contact made Ib glance up at his face, and he had the hints of a smile poking at the corners of his mouth.

"You're just curious, that's understandable. You didn't do anything bad," Garry told her in a quiet voice. His thumb swept across her cheek and he grinned at her. "Come now, smile. Real big, or you'll ruin your cute face."

Ib stopped frowning, but kept her expression neutral. "I'm sorry," she blurted, "for reading that story after you told me not to."

"It's _okay_, Ib," Garry assured her. "Now be happy. You don't want your face sticking like that, do you?"

Garry's smile told her that whatever she had done, she was forgiven, and that was all it took to get her lips to curve up in a huge smile. Ib wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close into a hug. Garry did the same, his long arms embracing her lightly.

"So.." Ib pulled away, and inspected the mark she'd left on his skin. "What does this mean?"

"What does... oh, that." It was like Garry had forgotten about it. Or like he was trying to. "It, uh, it's called.."

He paused for a long moment, face turning almost the same red as the mark on his neck. Garry ran a hand through his hair, and after clearing his throat, he began again.

"It's called a hicky," he explained. "People who love each other typically give them this mark." Garry exhaled deeply through his nostrils, like he was holding his breath the entire time of his explanation.

People who love each other.. Ib thought for a long time. She knew little about love. She knew that her parents loved each other. And that her parents loved her. Ib loved her parents. Ib loved macaroons and candy. Ib loved reading and learning new things.

Ib loved Garry.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't love Garry the same way she loved sweets and reading and her parents. There was something different about the way she loved Garry.

"Ib?" Her attention was grasped when Garry's hand waved in front of her face a few times. When her eyes came into contact with his, he continued, "do you understand?"

"I think so, but what does it _mean_?" she emphasized her question a bit more. "Why do people do that?" Garry put a finger to his lips, pondering for a moment.

"I guess it's sort of a way of asking, 'can I keep you?' I suppose," Garry lowered his eyes in thought. "That's the best way I can put it for you. I'm not absolutely sure myself." He laughed nervously.

Ib thought for another moment, nibbling at her thumbnail while she mused. She _did_ want to keep Garry. She loved the way he could always make her smile, and how he was always so kind to her. She loved that he would help her study and take her out for macaroons. She loved the adventures they went on together, the good and the bad.

She simply loved him. And she wanted to keep him.

"Can I keep you, Garry?" Ib asked him, a ghost of a smile playing about her lips. "Will you keep me?"

His face reddened as the question escaped her lips. Garry knew _exactly _what she was hinting at. Ib didn't see why he looked so nervous though. If it wasn't bad and it just meant they wanted to keep each other, then what was the harm?

"Ib, I don't think..." Garry began, stumbling over his words.

She looked at him with a neutral expression but it told him that if he didn't do it, then that meant he didn't want to keep her. Garry sighed.

'_What have I gotten myself into?'_ Garry thought, scratching his head. Out loud, he said to Ib, "okay, but this is our secret. You can't show anyone, okay? If you do, they won't let me keep you."

Ib nodded furiously until finally angling her neck to where Garry could have the best access. His fingers slightly undid the collar of her shirt so he could reach her collarbone. That way, it would be concealed. Garry's fingers trembled and he swallowed the lump in his throat before letting his lips finally settle lightly against her soft skin. Ib let out a gasp from the contact, but pulled him close. It felt like he was giving her an intense kiss at her neck.

Garry felt his hand rest on the small of her back and rub it up and down gently, like it had a mind of its own. It traveled up to the back of Ib's neck and found itself in her brown locks. Just what was he doing?

"Ah..!" Ib let out a wince as the pressure became almost a little painful. Garry continued sucking at her skin, and occasionally Ib could feel his teeth at her neck, making her shiver.

He finally let go and admired his handiwork. A bright red hicky the same color as Ib's skirt had made it's home right there on her collarbone.

"All done," Garry said, looking up at Ib's flushed face.

Ib put her hand to her neck, which was slightly wet from Garry's mouth. A weird feeling of embarrassment settled in her stomach, but she was happy. Garry wanted to keep her. She looked in his eyes, giving him a light smile, noting that his face was as crimson as hers.

"Now, in time, that mark will go away," Garry explained. "But don't worry. I'm still going to keep you. And I'll give you another one to always remind you.. but, you'll have to wait until you're older, okay?"

Ib grinned at him, possibly the biggest smile she's ever given him, and tackled him on the couch, hugging him furiously.

"Okay," she responded, "as long as I can keep you until then."

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**Am I still allowed in the fandom? OTL I can't help that I'm such an Ibcon, I just love these two together...heh. Anyway, please review and such, thanks for reading, I love you people! **


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